Abstract

The Citizens Committee on Displaced
Persons (CCDP) was formed in 1946, initiated by the American Council of
Voluntary Agencies and the National Committee on Immigration Policy.
Its objective was to seek temporary legislation suspending immigration
quotas and allowing displaced persons to enter the United States. The CCDP
aroused public concern through local committee groups, publications, films,
etc., and also lobbied directly for passage of the desired bills. Though
unsuccessful in obtaining passage of the Stratton Bill (HR2910) and Wiley
Bill (S2242), the CCDP played some role in passage of the Displaced Persons
Act of 1948, and in its amendment in 1950. The Committee disbanded
after the adoption of this amendment.

Records include correspondence,
financial records, and minutes. Most correspondence is of Nathan
W. Levin, who was involved in financial supervision of the Committee.
In English. Inventory available.

Provenance/Processing

This collection was donated
to the Immigration History Research Center by Nathan Levin in December
1975. Inventory prepared by Judith Friedrich in November 1982. Inventory
prepared for the Internet by Student Assistant Jessica Roskoski and Assistant
Curator Heather Muir in 2001.

Historical Sketch

The Citizen's Committee on Displaced
Persons (CCDP) was formed in 1946, having been initiated by the American
Council of Voluntary Agencies and the National Committee on Immigration
Policy. The primary objective of the committee was to seek the passage
of temporary legislation suspending immigration quotas and allowing displaced
persons to enter the United States.

As a means to this goal,
the committee focused on two major activities. First, it sought greater
public awareness of the problem. This was accomplished through local committee
groups, publications, films, etc. The motivation behind this was to arouse
the public's concern so that their representatives in Congress might be
notified. Secondly, the committee sought direct support from several Congressmen
and through lobbying efforts, succeeding in getting several bills presented
before Congress. Among these were the Stratton Bill (HR2910) and the Wiley
Bill (S2242). The Stratton Bill was strongly supported by the CCDP but,
like the Wiley Bill, did not gain the necessary support in Congress. One
bill that was successful in passing was the Displaced Persons Act of 1948.
The committee's role in the passage of this bill was not clear, but the
minutes suggest that it was not entirely supported by the committee. In
1950, the bill was amended, in part due to CCDP lobbying efforts. As a
result of this amendment, aid was extended to more than 400,000 refugees.
The committee, having met its objective, was disbanded in July of 1950.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the
internal records of the committee. Absent are any of the committee's publications,
fund-raising speeches, or records of specific lobbying activities. Included
are the Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, general correspondence, and
financial records.

The EXECUTIVE MEETING MINUTES
provide a good sense of the CCDP’s activities. Since the actual committee
publications, speeches or records of lobbying are not included in this
collection, the minutes provide the best insights to committee involvement.
In the early meetings, attention was focused on the organization of the
committee. As time progressed, attention was turned to fund drives, public
affairs and legislation in progress.

For the most part, meetings
took the form of general discussion with some reports given by individuals.
Regular reports presented include financial reports, progress reports on
field organization, Washington Office developments, and a publicity progress
report.

Beyond this general understanding
of the committee's activities over the years, the minutes will also provide
insights as to the issues facing the committee, particularly in dealing
with the bills before Congress. Should we support this bill? What are the
implications if we do not? What are the positive and negative aspects of
it? These are all questions that the CCDP frequently discussed and are
recorded in these minutes. Out of these discussions, understanding of the
CCDP’s goals and objectives can be refined.

Frequency of the committee
meetings varies. They tended to be held weekly with several periods of
fortnightly meetings, depending on the need. Arrangement is chronological.

The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
deals primarily with the concerns of this committee as an unincorporated
organization. Major topics include financial affairs with the Chase National
Bank and matters of legal concern with the committee's legal counsel, Cleary,
Gottlieb, Friendly & Cox. Some office memoranda and correspondence
dealing with the routine activities of the committee are also included.

The majority of the correspondence
was sent or received by Mr. Nathan W. Levin, who was involved substantially
with the financial supervision of the committee (general correspondence
1947 Nov. 7). Levin also worked as a financial consultant to Lessing J.
Rosenwald, who was a major financial supporter of the committee.

The correspondence covers
a period from December 11, 1946- April 15, 1953, and is arranged in a strict
chronological order.

The FINANCIAL RECORDS series
has been divided into three groups. The first is Income Tax Forms and Related
Correspondence. This includes statements of salaries paid by the committee
to staff members. It is arranged chronologically by year, and within the
year, it is arranged alphabetically by employee name. Also included is
a handwritten copy of the names, addresses, and income for persons on the
CCDP’s payroll for the years 1947-1950.

The official statements contain
balance sheets for the period, statement of income, expense and deficit,
and a summary of cash receipts and disbursements. These statements generally
appear annually. S.D. Leidesdorf and Co., certified public accountants,
compiled the reports.

Bibliographical Note and
Separation Record

See “Refugee Asylum in the
United States: How the Law Was Changed to Admit Displaced Persons,” International
Migration (1975), 3-20, for an account of the committee's work, written
by the committee's Secretary, William S. Bernard. Included in this article
is a bibliography of additional sources to consult. This journal is available
in IHRC Print Collection.

The following items have
been transferred to the print collection and may be helpful for background
information about the Citizens Committee and related organizations:

Auerbach, Frank L. The
Admission and Resettlement of Displaced Persons in the United States.
New York: Common Council for American Unity, 1950.

International Refugee Organization.
The
Experience of the IRO in the Field of International Migration Operations.
Geneva, 1951.

U.S. Department of Justice.
Department of Justice. Annual Report of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service. 1949.